Chromium promoted sulfated zirconia (CSZ), prepared by wetness impregnation technique, was characterized by various techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Electron probe microscopic analysis (EPMA). Bulk density and Brauner-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of CSZ were found to be 0.996 kg/m(3) and 1162 m(2)/g, respectively. CSZ was further used as catalyst for the oxidative removal of sulfur from model oil (dibenzothiophene, DBT, dissolved in iso-octane). Optimum CSZ dose was found to be 5 g/l. The catalytic oxidation of DBT by CSZ was found to be gradual process with optimum reaction time of 6 h. The activation energy for DBT conversion by CSZ was found to be 3.8 kJ/mol. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.